Shakespeare's R&J
Bruinbard Shakespeare Company
Kerckhoff Art Gallery - 2023
Written by Joe Calarco
Directed by Cerulean Long
Assistant Director - Rio Hundley
Dramaturg - Jane Su & Kathy Xue
Sound Design - Mazie Voss
Costume Design - Xinyu Chen
Prop Design - Chloe(Yutong) Zhu
Lighting Design - Jiayun(Lucy) Zhang
Scenic Design - Shuwen Cao
Assistant Scenic Design - Jing(Amy) Feng
Production Manager - Rowan Smith​
Performance Photos (by Jane Su)
Joe Calarco's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet explores themes of repression, isolation, violence, mob mentality, psychosis, and sexual hysteria through a self-reflective lens, as a group of students reads, performs, and ultimately lives out a coming-of-age romance. While the story remains universal and timeless, the emotional exchange it sparks is deeply intimate and visceral.
Staging R&J today offers a unique opportunity to reconstruct both text and context. This re-imagining provides an ideal setting for dissecting issues around gender and pushing the conversation further. In a world constantly experiencing wars and grappling with aftermath of a global pandemic, isolation and hostility are pervasive, and personal resistance - especially from the youth - can feel meaningless. Shakespeare’s R&J invites the audience to examine not only conflict and violence but also hope and faith.
The traverse-staging in a gallery setting create an interactive, immersive space. By experimenting with the gaze and its reversal, the play allows the audience to join the students in exploring their gender identity, sexuality, desire, and free will.
Character & Concept Photos (by Yama)
R&J is a playground, a cage, a battlefield, a wedding bed, a fever dream.
It is the courageous, never-ending attempt to break down the walls of Verona and see the world beyond.